Mediator I: Apprentice
by terrymcgrion
Summary: Nothing much was expected of Uchiha Sasuke. Known as Itachi the Prodigy's little brother, Sasuke was just, in the villagers' eyes, a normal Uchiha boy. Little did they know that Sasuke was one of the only fighters left to defend the human existence agains
1. Prologue

Summary: Nothing much was expected of Uchiha Sasuke. Known as Itachi the Prodigy's little brother, Sasuke was just, in the villagers' eyes, a normal Uchiha boy. Little did they know that Sasuke was one of the only fighters left to defend the human existence against the deadly Underworld.

Disclaimer: The Naruto characters do not belong to me. Everything else does.

Author's Note: Sorry for the continual and frequent changes. I haven't looked at the plotline in a while, and when I did, I decided to change a few things.

* * *

Prologue

It started when he was two.

A man, appearing to be about thirty, was hovering just slightly above the ground in his house.

He should have taken the hint.

Instead, he grabbed the intruder's hand and pulled him toward his brother's room. After all, who else could take care of this?

The boy's footsteps pattered down the hall.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke burst into his brother's room. 

Jolted out of his thoughts, Itachi gave Sasuke a curious glance, then shrugged and began turning away. It was probably just another of Sasuke's requests for his beloved nii-san (Author's Note: I hope I used the right form/spelling) to train with him.

Sasuke beamed at Itachi. "Thisguywassneakingaroundourhomeandicaughthim!" The two-year old pronounced, all in one breath.

Itachi was thrown back in surprise. Of all the things to say, he never suspected Sasuke would say something like that.

Narrowing his eyes, Itachi glanced around. He hadn't noticed anybody. Frowning, Itachi turned on his sharingan.

Still no sign of anyone.

"Where is this person?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke blinked in confusion. A startling thought started to form in his mind.

'Nii-san can't see him?'

Glancing up at his 'prisoner,' he saw that the stranger, recovered from his shock, was shaking his head at him.

Still suspicious, but relenting because there was nothing else to be done, Sasuke muttered, "Never mind."

The youngster quickly trotted out, still keeping a hold of the trespasser's hand.

From that day on, Sasuke never mentioned this incident or any of the others that were to come.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The Naruto characters do not belong to me. Everything else does.

Author's Note: I skipped to about the time when the Naruto series starts, just in case anyone gets confused.

Author's Note: I decided to change a few things, so I had to delete the original chapter 2.

* * *

Chapter 2

**_Inside Sasuke's apartment, Konoha_**

Sasuke was pissed.

He glared at Yoshi, the cause of his current frustration, and spat out, "Absolutely not. I'm not increasing my mediator training hours; I have to get ready for my academy exams!"

The ghost gazed at the enraged boy in exasperation. What had he done to deserve such a pigheaded and uncooperative pupil? The gods must hate him. A lot.

Sighing, Yoshi fixed Sasuke with a stern look. "You are a mediator, so make use of the powers given to you."

"I would rather use them on Itachi!"

Yoshi silently groaned. Ever since Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, had massacred the Uchiha clan, Sasuke seemed bent on revenge. "Killing Itachi won't bring back your family," the ghost reminded his student, "Living for revenge is neither healthy nor beneficial."

Upon hearing those very familiar words, Sasuke angrily shouted, "That's just a dumb excuse! How can they say, 'Just forget it and move on' when they don't know what it's like to be me?

Yoshi's face darkened. There were no traces of mirth or kindheartedness in his eyes when he hissed, "At least you still have a life! If all you can do is wallow in self-pity, you deserve no one's respect!"

After giving Sasuke one of his famous 'death-glares,' Yoshi teleported away.

Sasuke stared at the spot his teacher had occupied a few minutes before. His gaze lost focus as he absorbed Yoshi's words and tried to make sense of them.

Then, the position of sun made him recall an important piece of information:

School started in 5 minutes.

Cursing his luck, Sasuke hurried off. His last thoughts were, "I'll deal with the mediator thing later."

**_A few hours later, Outside Konoha_**

Sunlight shown on (or rather, through) the figure perched in the branches of a rather ugly tree. A few birds chirped cheerily and hopped around, seemingly ignorant towards the brown-haired man sitting a few feet away from them.

Guilt gnawed at Yoshi. He felt horrible for being so harsh to Sasuke, but the kid really needed someone to beat some sense into him. "I was right in telling him exactly what was wrong with him," the ghost tried to convince himself.

He still felt guilty.

**_Same time, Inside Sasuke's Apartment_**

Sweat rolled down Sasuke's back as he collapsed on one of the sofas. He groaned. Training had been harder today; Iruka-sensei was out on a mission, and his substitute had a 'busier' training schedule than most.

He also had to avoid all his fawning fan-girls.

Wincing at that particular memory, Sasuke leaned over to pick up a glass of water. His eyes flashed as he glimpsed the katana lying in his bedroom. Its red hilt stared innocently back at him, betraying none of the trouble it had caused its owner.

Sasuke frowned. He still had to practice that new exorcism technique that Yoshi had –

Wait.

Memories of their previous argument came flooding back to the young ninja. "It isn't my fault," Sasuke groused to himself, "If only Yoshi wasn't so difficult!"

Somehow that didn't feel quite right.

* * *

Ugh.

That thought flashed across Sasuke's mind as he drew the wrong symbol on the exorcism circle he was working on. Not again! He just couldn't seem to concentrate.

Standing up, Sasuke picked up his katana and headed out the door. Perhaps a walk would help clear his mind.

**_A few minutes later, training field in Konoha_**

Why did this always happen to him?

Sasuke glared at the floating ghost before him. The girl didn't seem to notice his blatant hostility as she continued to prattle on.

Sasuke was about to sneak off when Yoshi's words resounded in his head.

_You are a mediator._

"So what?" Sasuke thought as he tried to ignore the rising feeling of unease in him. He was right, and Yoshi was wrong.

Right?

_Make use of the powers given to you._

Sasuke sighed. He'll never be able to get away from that annoying voice (aka his conscience). Turning around, the mediator-in-training did the unthinkable.

He asked the girl, "How can I help you?"

* * *

Yoshi hurried towards the training grounds. He had sensed a rise in Sasuke's reiki and was worried about his student. 

"I hope he's safe," the ghost thought frantically. Praying that the boy was still in one piece, Yoshi teleported onto the field and began, "Sasuke, are you al –"

He stopped, his expression turning into one of shock as he noticed the faint………_white_ mist in the air – the mark of a ghost that had departed peacefully. Sasuke had always exorcised ghosts that were reluctant to leave; he had never tried to help them resolve their problems before.

Sasuke turned around, noticing his teacher. "What?" he asked grumpily.

Yoshi noticed that his student's eyes didn't glance up to meet his. "Embarrassment," the ghost thought amusedly, "at being caught doing something nice."

A grin broke out on Yoshi's face. Perhaps Sasuke wasn't so hopeless after all.

Perceiving his instructor's smile, Sasuke scowled and muttered, "I'll take on the extra hours."

If it was even possible, Yoshi's grin became even wider. "Ok. We will be training three more hours every night starting tonight."

Sasuke groaned. He was not looking forward to losing sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The Naruto characters and the recognizable parts of its plotline do not belong to me. Everything else does.

* * *

Chapter 3

**_1 AM, Cemetery, Konoha_**

"Sasuke! On your right!"

The shout rang out suddenly, catching Sasuke unawares. The ninja twisted his body to the left as a sheet of ice swept by.

It missed him by a mere inch.

Reaching an arm below him, Sasuke barely managed to land in a defensive crouch. His eyes swept across the gravestones in a desperate search for the demon that was currently harassing him.

Yoshi and Sasuke had been training for five hours already, and the ninja was about ready to drop. His mentor, not having the physical limitations as his student, seemed to disregard all the subtle messages Sasuke was sending him.

Not that Sasuke would ever admit to being tired. He was Uchiha Sasuke, for heaven's sake! Uchiha Sasuke never complained about being overworked.

"Though," Sasuke thought dryly, "this would probably be a good time to do so."

The mediator-in-training was bruised, tired, and frustrated to the bone. He briefly considered just asking the demon to go away; perhaps he could form a kind of peace treaty – "I'll leave you alone, if you leave me alone," or something like that.

Sasuke shook his head to clear himself of those thoughts. How could he even think of resolving this issue peacefully? Wasn't Itachi's message clear enough?

But then again, his current insanity could just be from having Yoshi around 24/7. That guy drove Sasuke crazy with his commentary; the boy couldn't even answer back – it would seem like he had lost his mind if he suddenly started talking to what seemed like thin air.

Sasuke's musings were cut off when the demon darted towards him and released a torrent of ice. Sasuke quickly threw up a wall of fire. Most of the ice melted, but a few were able to pass through. The ninja grimaced; he had to end this fight soon – he didn't know how long he'd last with his depleted reiki.

Drawing out his katana, Sasuke raced towards the demon, concealing his reiki and using the headstones for cover. He kept the fire wall up a moment longer, and then let it fall with a bang.

The demon blinked, surprised at this new installment. The surprised expression turned to one of shock as Sasuke, now behind him, whipped his katana around and sliced off said demon's head.

Sasuke wiped his sword, panting in exertion. The ninja glanced around to make sure there were no other attackers.

After a couple minutes of scrutinizing the cemetery, Sasuke decided that there was only him and a certain ghost. The boy relished the triumphant feeling inside of him; he had just defeated another demon!

Then he realized what time it was. Shit! The academy graduates (he was one of them, of course) were being separated into teams tomorrow…..or rather, today.

Cursing the world and Yoshi (but mostly Yoshi) for keeping him up so late, Sasuke began to head towards his apartment to catch whatever sleep he could.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid….." the black-haired boy muttered angrily to himself. He was not looking forward to yet another day of sleep-deprivation.

* * *

A pair of brown eyes peered worriedly at the retreating back of the ninja. He knew that training this intensely put a lot strain upon Sasuke's reiki, but the boy had to become stronger. The demon that Sasuke just fought was weak compared to the rest of its kind. Yoshi shuddered to think of the results of a fight between his student and a higher-ranking creature; it would not be pretty. 

The only reason Sasuke hadn't met up with more powerful opponents was Kyuubi. Sasuke and Kyuubi both had fire reiki. Even though their auras were different shades of red, no one had bothered to look closer; if it really was only Kyuubi, the fox would make them pay in more than blood.

Dark creatures also loved to eat humans with higher amounts of reiki. It was kind of ironic how the strongest and most ruthless of demons was one of the only reasons Sasuke hadn't been eaten at an early age.

Yoshi grimaced. If only he could still use his mediator powers. But it seemed that once mediators died, they were just like any other ordinary human ghost. Besides the whole "I know there are dark creatures out there" thing.

Knowledge alone didn't stop you from getting killed.

The mediator could only hope that his student wouldn't have the bad luck to run into a higher-ranking creature at this stage of his training. After all, Sasuke didn't have bad luck – it was just a coincidence that the ninja kept on running into dark creatures at the most inopportune of moments.

It was just a coincidence, really. Just a coincidence.

(Author's Note: Keep on dreaming, Yoshi, keep on dreaming)

**_7 AM, Ninja Academy, Konoha_**

Sakura bounced into the room. Her gaze fell upon a certain dark-haired graduate and lit up in happiness.

From the day she had met the Uchiha, he had captivated her. Sakura was determined to get on the same team as her secret (coughnotcough) crush.

The kunoichi narrowed her eyes as she spotted a blond-haired girl sticking her tongue out at her. She'd show Ino who was better!

Inner Sakura: Hell yeah!

Sakura collected her thoughts and began to saunter towards her crush. A predatory gleam entered her eyes.

* * *

Sakura-chan was coming over to sit next to him! A faint blush rose on Naruto's cheeks as he grinned happily, waiting in anticipation for his long-time crush's approach.

* * *

It hurt. A lot. 

Sasuke stifled a groan as he shifted in his seat. Using reiki always had a greater drain on his energy than chakra did. It was expected; after all, reiki was directly from the soul. The only reason Sasuke didn't complain about using it was the fact that reiki was stronger and more effective than chakra. It was another stepping stone to fulfill his goal of killing Itachi.

The black-haired boy was startled back into reality when the blond-haired dope beside him suddenly shouted out, "Hey Sakura!"

_Sakura._

Just the mention of that name made Sasuke shiver. Sakura was one of the most frightening, obsessive, and stubborn fangirls he had ever had the misfortune of knowing.

"Naruto! Move your ass! I want to sit on the other side of you!" Sakura shouted, her furious expression turning into a coy one as she glanced at the black-haired boy.

Naruto whirled around and shot a glare at Sasuke.

The mediator-in-training sighed and rested his head against his hand; this was going to be a very long day.

_**Five hours later, Ninja Academy, Konoha**_

Kakashi, Sasuke decided, was either lazy or incompetent.

Or both.

After all, what kind of jounin would be late to his first meeting with his genin team? And besides, all this sitting was doing nothing to help Sasuke reach his highest goal: killing Itachi.

On the other hand, Sasuke couldn't make up his mind on whether he wanted to kill Kakashi for being late or hug him (Author's Note: metaphorically) for letting him get another five hours of rest, even though Sasuke had to keep his eyes open – just in case Naruto or Sakura…….tried anything.

Personally, Sasuke was more afraid of what Sakura would do than what Naruto was capable of. Most fangirls possessed what Sasuke called the "ultimate weapon." They seemed to be able to sneak up on you when you least expected it, like when you were –

Sasuke broke off his chain of thought. He did not want to even think about that particular incident; it had left him with severe nightmares and paranoia of enclosed spaces.

A particularly loud gale of laughter interrupted the boy's musings. Sasuke looked up just as Naruto was placing the blackboard eraser in the slit between the door and the wall.

Sakura crossed her arms and muttered, "I'm not involved in this."

Her expression somehow didn't quite match that.

Slightly curious, Sasuke reached a tendril of his mind into Sakura's. He was immediately bombarded by a loud voice that screamed out, "I love these types of things!"

Sasuke quickly cut off the connection. He winced, head throbbing from the force of Sakura's mental shout. When had Sakura acquired two minds?

He was spared from further thought into that subject when a hand reached through the slit of the door and yanked it open.

The chalk-filled eraser fell with a loud "thump!" on Kakashi's head. "Hmm, how can I say this?" the jounin mused thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, "My first impression is…I don't like you guys!"

Naruto and Sakura stared at Kakashi in amazement. What kind of prank-victim said something like that?

Sasuke put his head down on his desk. Now he had _two_ crazy teachers.


End file.
